He moved through the clanlands with a false sense of purpose and faked enthusiasm. Again, he made his nightly patrols of Inferni and as always, in his Secui form. He used it for the same reason he always had: it afforded him the strength and height he needed if he were to encounter a wolf. He had no reason to be ashamed of his small stature, for he certainly made up for it in many different ways. As a result, he was so accustomed to his halfling form that he felt awkward and out of place when he assumed his feral Lupus or humanized Optime forms. Like many luperci here, Hybrid was a habitual creature. However, unlike them, he was neither social nor did he possess the abilities to be social. As a result, he took his role as the night watchman with a misplaced sense of pride. True, he was no longer a warrior: but this meant he could focus his attention on fighting real enemies, not just fighting with annoying pests. His meeting with Sepirah still left him with a sour taste in his mouth. That little bitch had the nerve to voice her visions of grandeur to him. He still felt like it was treason to even suggest ascending to a position of power alongside Gabriel and Kaena.

He shook his head and continued his rounds along the borders. He wished he had Kaena to accompany him like he had months ago. They had made quite a little fun game with the wolf, who had eventually ceded to their claws and teeth. They could be quite persuasive when they wanted. Hybrid chuckled at this thought and then began to cough. He stopped his trot to stand still and let out the loud whoops as he tried to clear his lungs. He let out another feeble cough before he decided to continue on: as always, the loyal soldier of Inferni.

Hybrid turned at the sound of a voice. He moved his head first and then the rest of his body quickly followed. For a split second, he was looking over his shoulder until he re-aligned his body. He hated being in an awkward, in-between stance that would compromise his defense. As a rule, he tried to always be in a stance that he could easily defend from, even if that just meant keeping an eye out and his ears alert. He frowned when he recognized Gabriel approaching, but it dissipated once Gabriel spoke his name. Hybrid took a few steps closer to greet the other canine. His frown returned once Gabriel questioned him, but could not discern the subject.

“Doing what?” he replied. He trotted closer, descending down a slight slope and stepping carefully around an icy rock. He blinked and stood at ready, waiting to see what Gabriel needed from him today.

Hybrid frowned when Gabriel responded. How long had he been coughing? What a stupid question. He had just coughed for a few seconds. Hadn't Gabriel listened? Hybrid assumed Gabriel was perceptive, but perhaps he gave the Aquila too much credit. At this thought, Hybrid's frown deepened — he didn't want to doubt Gabriel. It was stupid to doubt him, not when he had pledged so much already. Maybe he was just having an off day. Hybrid didn't fucking know.

"Just now," he replied as Gabriel stepped in closer. Hybrid retracted his head and regarded the Aquila through slitted eyes. "What're you doing?" He kept the "fuck" out of his words, but he was sure it was implied. Just what the fuck was Gabriel doing sniffing him like that? Hybrid took a step back, feeling his lip curl with distaste. They both knew nothing would fucking happen if they were this close, so what the hell was he doing? Hybrid tried to force his annoyance away and calm himself, but he found it was difficult when your leader was in your face sniffing at you like some hound dog.

Hybrid flinched when Gabriel pulled back and replied. He recognized that the Aquila's words were short, but they seemed unusually harsh. Why was he being so odd today? If anyone, Hybrid should be the one upset with Gabriel invading his space all like that. They had already established that Gabriel did -- and did not -- want his submission in the regular wolf-like ways. So if Gabriel had wanted to exert his dominance as a leader, he should do it the coyote way (whatever the hell that way). All Hybrid knew was that it wasn't the wolf way. Fuck, this was so weird and confusing and fuck. Usually he relied on Gabriel to keep things simple and clean-cut, but it seemed as though something had changed.

"Nothing 'nusual," he replied. As always, his words were short, but they felt even shorter now with Gabriel mimicking his style of speech. He wasn't used to being the one who did the thinking 'round these parts. After a few moments, Hybrid realized Gabriel's question had been more in general -- about Inferni and Hybrid's patrols than the coughing. Enkiel's mystery-woman disease was over. "Actually," he clarified, "Sepirah was being a stupid little bint the other day. Very childish. Whining about if she were leader of Inferni and all that bullcrap. Questioning my discipline." At the last word, he felt himself seethe with indignance. He knew he couldn't put the stupid child in her place, but maybe Gabriel could.

Hybrid was surprised to hear Sepirah was one of Samael’s. Hybrid would have thought better of his ex-lover’s children. Though, he supposed therein lay the problem: any lover aside from Hybrid would obviously be inferior and therefore produce inferior children. Hybrid just wished it didn’t have to be Samael; the man was capable of such wrath and was so vicious, so how could he produce a whining, annoying mess such as Sepirah? He didn’t understand it.

Hybrid guffawed snidely when Gabriel spoke again. He was glad to hear Halo, too, had found Sepirah to be trying. No, that wasn’t even the right word: she was a right headache who dared question Hybrid’s loyalty to Inferni and implied her own right to rule. She was so many things and so many words he didn’t even know. Oh, he loathed her.

Gabriel’s last comment surprised Hybrid: he hadn’t noticed the scent of wolves thick on Sepirah’s fur. He wondered why Sepirah would be venturing to the other packs. She certainly was not a spy, and if she was trying to be one, she wasn’t cut out for it. So that only left one reason: she obviously enjoyed the company of wolves. The mere thought made Hybrid’s lip curl with distaste.

“Shit,” he replied eloquently. “She’s fucking annoying, and other things.” He shook his head. “Didn’t know you needed ‘er to fight me. It was fucking horrible, too. Fuck. What the fuck is she doing with fucking wolves, anyway? What the fuck’s wrong with Inferni?” The answer was simple: nothing. Nothing was fucking wrong with Inferni.

Hybrid nodded hesitantly, taking a moment to figure out what it had been Gabriel hadn’t intended to tell him. The sickness, right? That had to be it. Once he figured that out, his nod was more confident, but still silent. He had nothing to add. His nod quickened when Gabriel noted that all the Hydras needed discipline.

“Fuck yes,” he agreed. Since he’d taken over the job of patrolling the borders, he suspected the warriors would fall prey to laziness. It was only natural, after all, given his disappearance from the warrior ranks. He wasn’t sure what to say about Gabriel’s suggestion of spying; she hadn’t seemed too cunning to him. In fact, she had whined and moaned for most of their conversation.

“Maybe somethin’ that doesn’t require much thinking or talking,” he replied snidely. “Or maturity,” he added. He doubted there was any rank for the kind of qualities that girl had displayed. It was a shame she couldn’t just be labelled an Outsider.

Hybrid grunted in reply, but didn’t elaborate. Sure, she was young, but she wasn’t that young. She had to be a yearling now, which meant she was more or less an adult. She was pretty much fully grown, so Hybrid didn’t feel like he should treat her like a child if she wasn’t one anymore. She wasn’t a few months old: she could be naïve, but that didn’t grant her ignorance. He didn’t believe in granting exceptions where they weren’t due. Hybrid couldn’t really remember what he had been like at her age, but it didn’t help to compare – they were very different creatures, after all.

He glanced back at Gabriel when he posed a question. He coughed and then replied: “north.” He coughed once more as his voice was still coming out cracked and hoarse. “Toward the peak. I’ll do a loop ‘round the territory borders.” He wasn’t sure if Gabriel would accompany him, but he almost felt like he would welcome the company. It was a strange thought, but he supposed Gabriel was one of the creatures for whom he could make exceptions. He didn’t mind the other canine’s presence as long as he wasn’t sticking his nose in his business. Hybrid could appreciate a quick scent check, but sniffing for disease? That was just preposterous. Either way, if Gabriel wanted to follow him along on his night patrol, he wouldn’t object.

When Gabriel spoke up, Hybrid shrugged and then nodded in response. Since he would sort of appreciate Gabriel's company, he did not raise any objections to the leaders' statement. He just nodded and continued on his way, pausing for a moment to wait for the Aquila to catch up with him. He had gone over these routes so many times that they were now a second nature. He knew the different nooks and crannies of the land: where there was a sudden dip and where a low-lying branch would be waiting. He tried to mix up his patrol routes, but in the end, he was a creature of habit and returned to similar paths.

Hybrid trotted along, taking care not to lose the other canine. He supposed it would be quite difficult. After all, Gabriel was a hulking hybrid of canines and was hard to miss. Moreover, the other male's scent was so familiar to Hybrid that he suspected he would notice if he wasn't walking with the leader anymore. Either way, he paused every so often as they trekked north. Soon, they at the base of the mountain and they had to climb some parts could leisurely stroll through others. And still, all was quiet.

Gabriel’s continued presence at his back was reassuring. He liked knowing that the Aquila would always be nearby no matter what happened. Gabriel was such a source of consistency in Inferni that it made it easy for him to exist almost purely as a creature of chaos. He thrived in the disorder and the broken social structures of war, but still appreciated the discipline of being Gabriel’s right-hand man. He had accepted that Inferni had become irrelevant: with new members like Sepirah sullying the pool of coyotes, there was no way it would ever achieve its status of glory again. It was impossible and Hybrid recognized this. Now, he was content to live in the chaos of a new Inferni: a third incarnation in which Gabriel was truly the only one that mattered.

He liked it better this way anyways.

When Gabriel spoke, Hybrid replied automatically with a gruff, “yeah.” As they made their way up the rocky mountain path, Hybrid was aware of the widening distance between them. He wondered if Gabriel had said anything else. He paused to turn around and look at the Aquila, wondering if there had been anything else he wanted to state.

Hybrid stood there for a moment staring down at the leader of Inferni. He gained some height from his perch atop the rocks, but it was only fleeting. Once Gabriel came up around beside him, he was the taller and larger of the two. As a pure coyote, Hybrid was already quite lean and thin. But for whatever reason, he was a little smaller than the average coyote and therefore was dwarfed in comparison to Gabriel. Hybrid paused for a moment to watch the Aquila ascend up the rocky mountainside before finding his way beside the other male. It only lasted for a few moments before Hybrid had to pick up the pace and walk single-file, since the path was only meant for one. Hybrid suspected it was a deer path, so it was incredibly narrow. He had used it a few times, but certainly not enough to make it accessible for two canines side by side.

As Hybrid continued the trek and Gabriel not far off, he considered making conversation. Quickly, he dismissed the thought. They were here to patrol the borders, not make small talk. They did not have time for such silly pasttimes. Hybrid demanded discipline from himself and therefore expected nothing less from Gabriel. He kept a quick, marching pace, only stopping to sniff when he found a new scent. He would not be taken unawares in his home.